Meltdown of Toshiba’s Nuclear Business Dooms New Construction in the U.S. Toshiba’s dramatic exit from the business of building nuclear power plants lands another blow to a beleaguered sector, undermining new development and research on advanced reactor designs. After acquiring a majority stake in Pittsburgh-based Westinghouse Electric in 2006 for $5.4 billion, the Tokyo technology … Continue reading Meltdown of #Toshiba ’s Nuclear Business Dooms New Construction in the U.S. →

Bailing Out Nuclear Plants Doesn’t Make Sense A new report by a right-leaning think tank says there’s no economic justification to bail out U.S. nuclear power plants slated to shut down in the coming years. The R Street Institute report blames the nuclear industry’s woes on market changes driven by natural gas, government green energy … Continue reading Bailing Out Nuclear Plants Doesn’t Make Sense →

China building floating nuclear reactors With an eye on the South China Sea and offshore oil and gas exploration, China is stepping up construction of floating nuclear reactors. A top Chinese official has told the Science and Technology Daily that China will prioritise the development of a floating nuclear power platform in the coming five … Continue reading #China building floating nuclear reactors →

Addressing the Plight of Existing Nuclear Retirements, Part 3 Highlights: 1.While states have a major role to play in preventing nuclear retirements, regional and federal solutions offer alternative avenues to keep nuclear plants operating. 2.For ISOs, capacity market reform can reduce retirement pressure by more fully valuing the long-term benefits of nuclear generation in the … Continue reading Addressing the Plight of Existing Nuclear Retirements, Part 3 →

Addressing the Plight of Existing Nuclear Retirements, Part 2 Highlights: Although the economic struggles of the existing US nuclear fleet are clear, potential solutions to these challenges remain somewhat undefined and unanalyzed. Any solution must provide sufficient incentives to generators, reduce uncertainty, and be politically feasible. This is a clear situation where a one-size fits … Continue reading Addressing the Plight of Existing Nuclear Retirements, Part 2 →

Addressing the Plight of Existing Nuclear, Part 1 Introduction Recent developments suggest the very real possibility that the U.S. risks losing its largest source of low-carbon electricity: existing nuclear power plants. In the last two months, six nuclear reactors have announced that they plan to retire within the next nine years. They join five reactors … Continue reading Addressing the Plight of Existing Nuclear, Part 1 →

NUCLEAR POWER PLANT PLANS THROWN INTO DOUBT The proposed development of a new nuclear power plant at Moorside has been thrown into doubt by reports that one of the key players is reviewing its involvement. Toshiba will halt its nuclear construction ambitions after its Westinghouse unit incurred losses that could reach up to $6bn (£4.8bn), … Continue reading NUCLEAR POWER PLANT PLANS THROWN INTO DOUBT →

The Dream of Cheap Nuclear Power Is Over For much of my life, I loved the idea of nuclear power. The science was so cool, futuristic and complicated, the power plants so vast and majestic. I devoured science-fiction novels like “Lucifer’s Hammer,” where a plucky nuclear entrepreneur restarts civilization after a comet almost wipes us … Continue reading The Dream of Cheap Nuclear Power Is Over →